Even Housing Market Showing Signs of Hope

     Not too much but some. For the second straight month homebuilder confidence rose though it is far from a positive reading.

     “While this second solid monthly gain on the builder confidence scale is encouraging, the overall measure remains quite low due to the many challenges that home building continues to face with regard to the high number of foreclosures, the difficulties of obtaining construction financing and accurate appraisals, and the restrictive lending environment that is discouraging potential buyers,” said Bob Nielsen, NAHB Chairman and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

      "Builders credit extremely favorable mortgage rates and home prices for tempting more buyers into the market, but they also lobbied heavily for Congress to reinstate higher loan limits at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Loan limits there fell from $729,750 to $625, 500 on October first. This week lawmakers instead made a deal to raise limits at the FHA, but not at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The builders' association is still supporting the measure."

     "Several builder analysts have upgraded various public builders recently, expecting a turnaround in the sector sometime next year."

     Again while the homebuilder confidence level is still far from a positive reading it nevertheless is encouraging when thrown in with all the other positive developments we have seen-lower unemployment claims, higher GDP, drop in public sector job losses, industrial production being up...

    What's interesting is that this has been a very quiet recovery. However, the Obama Administration is now noticing which is why the President called out Europe for spinning its wheels today.

      http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2011/11/obama-calls-out-europe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DiaryOfARepublicanHater+%28Diary+of+a+Republican+Hater%29

     Perhaps there was something to Mark Zandi's optimism during the first half, with the quote that "the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are better than they have been in 15-20 years." You could certainly have knocked me over with a feather when I came across that comment and virtually everything we saw this Summer seemed to belie such talk which almost made you recall Irving Fisher-in a bad way.

    What's clear now though is that the U.S. economy is not the main problem. It may even be part of a solution if Europe can ever get the ECB to be what it should be, the lender of last resort.

    For the original prognostications by Zandi please see

    http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2011/08/still-more-on-bush-tax-cuts.html